After weeks of rainfall, parts of Britain enjoy warmest of the year

Bedding down nicely: This woman in St James’s Park, central London, found herself a nice warm spot among the daffodils (Picture: Demotix)

After weeks of being stuck inside as the rain bucketed down, millions hit the great outdoors.

Parts of the country enjoyed their warmest day of the year, with London hitting 19C (66F).

Some parts, including Shenfield in Essex and Erith in south-east London, even managed 24C (75F).

Turkey and Greece struggled to reach double figures while Seville, Tenerife and Valencia also failed to match them.

Wish you were pier: Brighton was cooler than inland but the beach was still packed (Picture: PA)

Apart from being a much-needed tonic, today was also the hottest day since October 26 last year.

Runners sweltered in the Cambridge half marathon while many gardeners cut their grass for the first time.

The unusually warm weather also led supermarkets to get strawberries on the shelves earlier than usual. A Waitrose spokesman said: ‘While the wet weather has caused havoc for many, milder temperatures have resulted in an earlier harvest than usual, with English strawberries available a week earlier than in 2013.’